1 oceans past news no.1 july 2016 - trinity … · skate dipturus batis ... oceans past news no.1...
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WELCOME!
These are exciting times to be researchers of Oceans Past. We are enjoying
scientific breakthroughs that are truly expanding our understanding of changes in
the sea – and are increasingly becoming important to marine management. We
employ new methodologies and new approaches that are shifting and deepening
our understanding of what once was a big unknowable. It is all happening at
breakneck speed and in a myriad of contexts. This newsletter is designed to help
us all keep abreast of information, opportunities, and connections to be made. I
hope the newsletter will be a simple and efficient tool. It will only be as good as
we all make it so I encourage you to share information. Let’s build on our
community’s willingness to share.
Poul Holm
Chair, Oceans Past Initiative
OCEANS PAST SPOTLIGHT
Each issue of Oceans Past News will include a feaure article to highlight research happening in our community, as either an
Oceans Past Spotlight or as 12 Questions, which will pose the same 12 questions to different leaders in our field. If you would
like be considered for either, or to nominate a colleague or mentee, please contact Emily Klein at [email protected].
John Nicholls: Fish, Whales, and Datasets - OPI continues to house a wealth of data Based at the University of Hull in England, the Oceans Past Initiative (OPI) data repositories house a wealth of
information about marine ecosystems through time. Intended to engage across the community, these repositories
are maintained in accordance with international data management standards, and the integrity of these datasets was
verified through peer review, published documents (books, journals, etc.), and via academic and public engagement.
All OPI datasets are also underpinned with specific metadata to inform users on the information they are accessing.
These metadata take the form of concise documentation that describes the research, processes, methodologies and
compilation of the original data and the means by which the dataset was produced.
Some Concepts Explained
What is a repository? A centrally located computer server, with redundant backups and security measures in place, that can store and manage data. (e.g. HYDRA Repository - https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:HMAPDisplaySet)
What is a database? Data held in an archive, typically in a computer in digital form, in a structured and formatted way that can be accessed in diverse ways.
What is a dataset? Compiled information set that has been specifically formatted into a structured unit so that it can be used as a distinct entity, typically by a computer.
What is metadata? Metadata is data about data. It explains, describes, and provides relevant information about a dataset or a database (e.g. how and by whom the data was collected).
What is aggregated data? Collection of data extracted from a series of data sources, such as databases and datasets and compiled into an accessible and exchangeable format
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Galapagos fishermen.
OPI is also working with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO,
International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) and Ocean Biogeographic
Information System (OBIS), to provide aggregated datasets to the Big Data community. To date,
we provide 22 complete datasets that span the world’s oceans and seas, from Australia to Peru,
from the Galapagos to the Arctic, and from the Antarctic to the South China Sea.
New datasets are being produced and developed in accordance with
our strict guidelines, including a unique British Southern Whale Fishery database. In yet
another development, in conjunction with OBIS and the Charles Darwin Institute, we are
developing new datasets of Sea Cucumber fisheries in the Galapagos to assist with
UNESCO’s awareness drive around endangered species. Links to the current datasets in
various formats can be found at: http://www.hull.ac.uk/hmap/index.htm.
Your contributions are welcomed! If you are working on a data collection project or have access to data sources, you
can contribute to the worldwide database network. More information and how to produce standardized datasets can
be found on our Data Pages: http://www.hull.ac.uk/hmap/Submission/Submission.htmI. If you are interest in sharing
your data with the larger community or simply if you want to know more, please feel free to contact John Nicholls,
OPI Data Manager at [email protected]. Further informtaion on IODE data management and standards are available
at http://www.iode.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=33.
RESEARCH NEWS
Collaboration to understand swordfish in the Mediterranean Swordfish is an iconic fish species in the world’s oceans and easily recognized. It is also highly valued and has supported commercial fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea for millennia. Researchers are now investigating whether another potential and unutilized source of long-term swordfish data is available. They analysed bycatch records in coastally-deployed bluefin tuna traps in Italy during the late 1800s and 1900s to investigate whether swordfish have been captured in this fishing gear. Capture by these gear as bycatch could reveal new insights to swordfish biology (e. g., distribution, migratory behaviour, abundance), and how it has responded as fishing intensity and methods have changed over time. The results could be used to improve the ICCAT management strategy of this important fishing resource in the Mediterranean Sea. The work was started with a COST Short-term Scientific Mission to Sicily in March 2016. Further info: Brian MacKenzie ([email protected]) and Teresa Romeo ([email protected]). 112 years of change in North Sea skates and sharks Using historical data, researchers found there has been a
fundamental shift in the skate and shark assemblages in the North
Sea from larger, more valuable and more vulnerable species
historically to those smaller, more resilient and less economically
valuable. In addition to identifying these shifts, these scientists were
the first to show how trends resulted from the combined impacts of
fishing, climate change, and habitat loss. Given that these pressures
similarly affect shelf seas worldwide, findings have implications for
sharks and skates globally. The research also further identified key
nursery and feeding areas for sharks and rays in the North Sea,
including species classified as “High Risk” by the IUCN Red List.
Related publications: Sguotti C, Lynam CP, García-Carreras B, Ellis JR, Engelhard GH (2016) Distribution of skates and
sharks in the North Sea: 112 years of change. Global Change Biology 22: 2729-2743 (doi:10.1111/gcb.13316), and
Sguotti C (2014) From 1902 to 2013: one hundred and twelve years changes in the abundance and distribution of 8
species of elasmobranchs in the southern North Sea. MSc Thesis, Univ. Padua, Italy, 105 pp.
Detail from an illuminated manuscript (‘The Macclesfield Psalter’)
produced ~AD 1330 in eastern England, showing a large Common
Skate Dipturus batis (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) – a species
then common, but now considered locally extinct.
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Research aims to understand loss of fall herring in the Gulf of Riga
Autumn spawning herring were very abundant in the Baltic Sea a century ago, and contributed to approximately 90%
of herring catches. However, autumn spawners almost disappeared from the Baltic Sea during the 20th century. For
example, they declined in the Gulf of Riga during and after the late 1970s, after a
notable peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Henn Ojaveer (University of Tartu)
and Brian MacKenzie (Technical Univeristy of Denmark) have reconstructed catch
statistics for the autumn spawning herring in the Gulf of Riga since the 1920s and
retrieved other historical fishery data (including catch by age for the 1950s-1970s)
to assess whether the fishery was a main driver in the decline of the Gulf of Riga
stock. This study is part of the two EU BONUS projects INSPIRE (http://www.bonus-
inspire.org/) and BIO-C3 (https://www.bio-c3.eu/). For more: Henn Ojaveer
([email protected]) and Brian MacKenzie ([email protected]).
Has eutrophication promoted forage fish production in the Baltic Sea? A study in the Baltic Sea using historical evidence to help researchers understand how fish populations react to changes in nutrient concentrations. The study utilizes long time series of fish monitoring data combined with modelled nutrient concentrations to explore how a multi-fold increase in nutrient loads from the 1950s to 1980s enhanced sprat and herring productivity in the Baltic. Results suggest the increased nutrients enhanced the absolute level of fish biomass in some years via increased body weight of the fish, but that additional and independent trends in especially sprat biomass also occurred, largely driven by climate and top-down control (predation, fishing). Collectively, this reseach illuminated impacts of nutrient loading alongside those of other prevailing ecosystem and climate conditions, and illustrates the value of long datasets for attempting to attribute changes in production and biomass to human impacts. Related publication: Eero M, et al. (2016). Has eutrophication promoted forage fish production in the Baltic Sea? Ambio, doi:10.1007/s13280-016- 0788-3.
Maritime History Down Under
The IMEHA International Congress on Maritime History took place 27 June to 1 July at Murdoch University in Perth,
Western Australia, the first time the Congress has been held in the Southern Hemisphere. With the theme of “Old
Worlds, New Worlds? Emerging themes in maritime history”, presentations included a secret Spanish plot to rid the
Pacific region of the British in 1796, bubonic plague in Fremantle in 1900, and how
modern China was shaped by the maritime world. The Congress was attended by 144
delegates from all over the world, and key events included a visit to a private art gallery
with extensive Dutch maritime works and a tour of the Naval Base south of Perth.
COLLABORATIONS
ICES Working Group on the History of Fish and Fisheries (WGHIST): Operating
under the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), WGHIST
brings together fisheries scientists, historians, and marine biologists for
common work on social-ecological change through time. The group is currently
focused on the tangible benefits of marine historical ecology to current policy
and management, with special reference to human dimensions and integrated
ecosystem assessments and developing open-access data sources and tools. While ICES does have a North Atlantic
focus, WGHIST engages scientists and historians from the Mediterranean, Russia, South Africa, and Australia. The
next WGHIST meeting will be at the ICES Secretariat in Copenhagen, 6-9 September. For more informaiton or to
engage with WGIHST, please contact the co-chairs, Emily Klein
([email protected]) or Ruth Thurstan ([email protected]).
http://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WGHIST.aspx
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The Oceans Past Platform (OPP): The Oceans Past Platform Action of the European Cooperation in the field of
Scientific and Technical Research (EU COST OPP; 2014-2018) aims to measure and understand the significance and
value to European societies of living marine resource extraction and production to help shape the future of coasts
and oceans. OPP aims to lower the barriers between human, social and natural sciences, multiply the learning
capacity of research environments, and enable knowledge transfer and co-production among researchers and other
societal actors, specifically by integrating historical findings of scale and intensity of resource use into management
and policy frameworks. Specifically, OPP asks when, how and with what socio-
economic, political, cultural and ecological implications humans have impacted
marine life, primarily in European seas in the last two millennia. More info can
be obtained from https://www.tcd.ie/history/opp/.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Perspectives on Oceans Past: A Handbook of Marine Environmental History. Schwerdtner Máñez
K. & Poulsen B. (eds), published by Springer Science+Business Media. Major theories and methods
are introduced by leading scholars of the field, and as well as discussions of its contribution to the
management, conservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems, and the cultural
heritages of coastal communities in different parts of the world. doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-7496-3.
For more: http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789401774956.
Cod and Herring: The Archaeology and History of Medieval Sea Fishing. Barrett J. H. & Orton D. C.
(eds) published by Oxbow Books. This interdisciplinary book combines history, archaeology and
zooarchaeology to discover the chronology, causes and consequences of the cod and herring
fisheries. For more http://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/cod-and-herring.html.
The ICES Journal of Marine Science special issue, “Oceans Past V: Multidisciplinary perspectives on the history of
human interactions with life in the ocean” ICES J. Mar. Sci. (May/June 2016) 73 (5). Introduction by A. MacDiarmid
et al. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw059.
Bonanomi, S., et al. (2016), Historical DNA documents long-distance natal homing in marine fish. Mol Ecol, 25: 2727–2734. doi:10.1111/mec.13580.
Dunne, J. A., et al. (2016). The roles and impacts of human hunter-gatherers in North Pacific marine food webs. Scientific Reports, 6, 21179. doi:10.1038/srep21179.
Jackson, J., et al. (2016). An integrated approach to historical population assessment of the great whales: case of the New Zealand southern right whale. Royal Society Open Science 3, 150669. doi:10.1098/rsos.150669.
MacDiarmid, A.B., et al. (2016). Taking Stock – the changes to New Zealand marine ecosystems since first human settlement: synthesis of major findings, and policy and management implications. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No. 170. 48p. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/publications/.
MacDiarmid, A., McKenzie, A., & Abraham, E. (2016). Top-down effects on rocky reef ecosystems in north-eastern New Zealand: a historic and qualitative modelling approach. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No. 171. 20p. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/publications/.
Muñoz Sobrino, C., et al. (2016). Reconstruction of the environmental history of a coastal insular system using shallow marine records: the last three millennia of the Cíes Islands. Boreas. doi:10.1111/bor.12178.
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Pommer C. D., Olesen M., & Hansen J. L. S. (2016). Impact and distribution of bottom trawl fishing on mud-bottom communities in the Kattegat. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 548:47-60. doi:10.3354/meps11649.
Poulsen, B. (2016). Imitation in European herring fisheries, c. 1550-1860. Scandinavian Journal of History,41(2). doi:10.1080/03468755.2016.1155853.
Tushingham S., et al. (2016). Late Holocene Coastal Intensification, Mass Harvest Fishing, and the Historical Ecology of Marine Estuaries: The View from the Manila Site (CA-HUM-321) California Archaeology, 8(1).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Historical ecology of semi-enclosed basins: past, present and future of seas at risk, Chioggia, Italy, 3-4 October
2016, hosted by University of Padua and ISPRA, in collaboration with OPP COST Action. No registration fees, but a
maximum number of 60 persons accepted. Closing date for registration: 31st August 2016. http://bit.ly/29OHGYT.
12th Conference of the AGER Association and the XXXVII International Meeting of Archaeology and History of
Antibes conference: The exploitation of maritime resources in antiquity: productive activities and organisation of
associated territories. Antibes & Mougins, France, 11-14 October 2016. http://bit.ly/29SDaq6.
American Society for Environmental History Conference: Winds of Change: Global Connections across Space, Time,
and Nature. Chicago, Illinois, USA. March 29 - April 2, 2017. http://aseh.net/.
Oceans Past VI Conference: Historical perspectives on the elements and dynamics of the marine socio-ecological
system. Sesimbra, Portugal, May 2017. http://bit.ly/29i95Q5.
III CHAM International Conference: Oceans and Shores: People, Heritage and Environments. Lisbon, Portugal, July
2017. http://www.cham.fcsh.unl.pt/ac_actividade.aspx?ActId=456
Call for Expressions of Interest to Host the ESEH 2019 Conference. http://bit.ly/292kNhU.
CONTACT
Oceans Past News is a quarterly newsletter that aspires to both unite and inform the worldwide community interested
in historical perspectives of marine social-ecological systems by providing insight into the wide-ranging and excellent
work being done and the resources available. If you would like to propose work for OPN in the future, please contact
Emily Klein ([email protected]) or Cristina Brito ([email protected]).
The next Oceans Past News will be mid-October 2016 and will focus on research from Oceania and Asia.
We strongly encourage submissions from these areas prior to 30 September 2016.
RESOURCES
Oceans Past Initiative: http://www.tcd.ie/history/opi/